Tena koutou katoa i nga tini ahuatanga o te wa nei. Greetings to all. I had to own up to my teenage sons the other day that the computer that I relied on when I was a new fresh-faced barrister in 1996 was a hunk of grey with 300 kB of RAM. I used to crank it up in the morning, go and make coffee and collect the mail from two blocks away, before it was ready with its blinking green eye to start typing. And yet, I sort of feel I am part of the "tech generation" because it really was not that long ago, less than 20 years. My kids, of course, think otherwise! The sheer pace of change means that we are also needing to respond in terms of indigenous law solutions to provide the framework for relevant and Treaty-compliant development into the future. What does that mean? It means encouraging our youth to see technology as the new context in which the traditional debates around natural resources, authority, and decision making, will increasingly reside. Our rangatahi are well aware of the power-shifts that are occurring with technology; they object intuitively when old paradigms of control (censorship, copyright) try to influence them in their content delivery. And so it is with spectrum management rights, which (in this country) are allocated in 20 year slots under the Radiocommunications Act, and which provide powerful platforms for economic and social control. Professor Whatarangi Winiata has termed the Crown's assumption of authority over the allocation of spectrum the "21st century confiscation". Yet so few of us really know what is happening and even fewer are prepared to speak out. Well, the latest twist has just happened in the long struggle for Maori to gain partnership recognition with the government as to the radio spectrum resource. The Waitangi Tribunal issued its decision on 17 Sept to deny Maori claimants the right to an urgent hearing to the 700MHz spectrum which is about to be auctioned by the NZ government. The Crown's submission reached a new low in the government's disregard for the sanctity of the Waitangi Tribunal. There was no utility, the Tribunal was told, in hearing once again that the Crown was in breach of the Treaty principles by allocating spectrum to third parties, without reserving an equitable share for Maori. The Crown had heard this before (in 1999) and would be carrying on regardless. I listened to that submission with sadness. The Tribunal has an incredibly important role as independent arbiter between the two Treaty partners, with "exclusive authority to determine the meaning and effect of the Treaty" (s.5(2) Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975). When that role is diminished, we are all the poorer. The auction is scheduled for October. Make some noise. This is a struggle that my kids will affected by, as they engage right now with mobile handsets that have 2GB of RAM, or some 2billion more bytes than the memory of my first workplace computer. If we let this auction allocate mobile 4G spectrum for another 20 year slot, what then?

Kia ora and welcome to the second blog. Have you ever tried to stop a sneezing attack? It can be so frustrating as one sneeze seems to encourage the next, with no end in sight.... It happened to me on Friday just as I was heading into a hui. For some reason, in the middle of the attack, I remembered an old sage piece of advice my mother used to say.... "Snort some water up each nostril, if the inside of your nose is wet, the sneezes will stop.." I had never actually bothered to try that out. This time I did, and I can tell you it works...! So as I sat there impressed with myself, eyes watering but sneeze-free, I got thinking about the sort of knowledge that gets handed down from generation to generation, full of practical wisdom that comes from actual experience, refined over the years, tried and true. In the international arena of the United Nations, whole work programmes are currently underway to try and preserve and protect "traditional knowledge". Here at home, a group of elders determined to protect their traditional knowledge bravely initiated a claim that is now referred to as "Wai 262". We all have examples given to us; you will have your own and you might have heard some of these wise sayings that I grew up with:

a teaspoon of vinegar into your stew or boil up makes for quickly tenderised meat

chew parsley for fresh breath

The list is endless, and incredibly valuable. And so it is with knowledge about our flora and fauna, our medicinal plants, our weather systems, seasons for planting and for fishing. The knowledge derives from the land, and becomes part of the people over generations. This "matauranga" or knowledge was not intended for commercial gain for some, to the exclusion of others. And traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can hold the key to our survival as a species. Or, in the case of my sneezing attack, maybe not survival, but certainly sanity.....Why not give this a go - try and remember one or two examples of traditional knowledge that you have been given over the years, and pass it on to a member of the next generation. Now that really is a "taonga tuku iho" - a treasure handed down.

Kia ora. This is the first of a series of blogs which will appear each Monday on the site. The aim is to provide a perspective on current news and events, trends or spirals.... and probably add to the cacophony of crap that is already out there!

Let's kick it off with an amazing fact that I learned from the recent publication Nga Puhi Speaks. Did you know that Nga Puhi chiefs declared war on Germany even before the New Zealand government did? It was another clear exercise of their tino rangatiratanga (chiefly authority) and consistent with their understanding of the nature of their relationship with the Crown under the Treaty of Waitangi. Nga Puhi did not cede sovereignty. The Treaty was simply an affirmation that a relationship between sovereign peoples would continue for the benefit of them both. These issues are being debated right now as part of the inquiry by the Waitangi Tribunal into the Northland historical claims (Te Paparahi o te Raki Inquiry). An independent review panel has already found in favour of the Nga Puhi position concerning "Te Whakaputunga". Now Nga Puhi is awaiting the Tribunal's report into this huge constitutional issue. Watch this space.

By the way, you can get copies of Nga Puhi Speaks from reotahi@clear.net.nz

Leo Watson

Tena koutou. What is Indigenous Law Solutions? Its a constitutional philosophy that says we have laws that evolve from the land and its natural resources, unique to this country and people. I'm also a singer-songwriter and blues violinist so there will be a bit of everything in here...! Enjoy.